The roots in Poland of Amercian family GRENDYSA - from SWILCZA SE Poland

Hi Keri,

Thanks to invaluable help of our forum friend Norbert I can give you all next info from Poland, all is for your rich Family History Book:

I. Family name:

GRENDYSA - this family name is noted with Polish etymological works, it derives directly from Polish language and word "Grad - Gra~d - Gr¹d" (meaning a small hill) noted in Poland from the year 1348, the other version is GRENDYSA - GRE~DYSA - in Polish as GRÊDYSA.

II. Family place/origin:

SWILCZA is a town beatifully located in SE Poland amongst small hills, here are some weblinks to preserve with the Family History Book:

SWILCZA with Polish Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Awilczahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%9Awilcza

The family origin as province is Subcarpatian Voivodeship: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subcarpathian_Voivodeshiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subcarpathian_Voivodeship

SWILCZA has his own website (in Polish of course, you can use for eg google translator to have texts in English): http://www.swilcza.com.pl/index.htmhttp://www.swilcza.com.pl/index.htm

From this website you have hundred of pictures giving the present-day life of Poles from Swilcza: http://www.swilcza.com.pl/galeria.htmhttp://www.swilcza.com.pl/galeria.htm

From this website you can collect some local pictures with nature: http://www.swilcza.com.pl/ekolog.htmhttp://www.swilcza.com.pl/ekolog.htm

From this website you have traditional local folklore costumes of your ancestors from Poland: http://www.swilcza.com.pl/news/20050916/main/img_1654.htmhttp://www.swilcza.com.pl/news/20050916/main/img_1654.htm

From this website you have also some pictures from MROLWA loated just nearby SWILCZA: http://www.swilcza.com.pl/23.htmhttp://www.swilcza.com.pl/23.htm

III. Family immigration history:

Our friend Norbert confirms the base info: Jan-John Grendysa was born in 1894 in this Swilcza SE Poland, as brave Pole immigrated to the US in 1912 just before WWI and seems his father Michal Swilcza and mother decided to collect money for his ticket to Amercia to save him before serving in Austrian Army, and taking part in WWI, when many young Poles had been killed by this crude world war. His sister Helena-Helen Grendysa followed him and also settled in the US.

IV. The family ancestral church and cemetery was same SWILCZA, here are some old pictures of this church where all your Polish ancestors were baptized, married, and burried on the local cemetery located at the church, please go down with this webpage:

http://www.swilcza.pl/index.php/Swileckie-Koscioly/Kosciol-SS.-Apostolow-Szymona-i-Judy-w-Swilczy-1636-1967.htmlhttp://www.swilcza.pl/index.php/Swileckie-Koscioly/Kosciol-SS.-Apostolow-Szymona-i-Judy-w-Swilczy-1636-1967.html

V. Checking living GRENDYSA's in this SWILCZA: Polish censuses 1990/2002 and Polish white pages very fortunately confirm that the GRENDYSA family members are still living, after more than 100 years, in this SWILCZA, Polish white pages are giving their phne numbers (www.ksiazka-telefoniczna.com):

1. Jacek Grendysa, Swilcza, Poland
2. Jozef Grendysa, Swilcza, Poland
3. Maria Grendysa, Swilcza, Poland
4. Stanislaw Grendysa, Swilcza, Poland
&
5. Grazyna Gre~dysa (Grêdysa), Swilcza, Poland

=

You must be very proud of your family Grendysa - Gre~dysa Polish immigration history, thank you for preserving all the family history and Polish ancestors' roots and heritage.

Tad
Warsaw, Poland